Winter X Games 2012: Real Snow Videos

Nic Sauve is a French Canadian rail machine, but even machines need a little maintenance sometimes. In this edit, Nic mixes a couple hammers with some sentimental testimonial regarding his injury while filming for this contest, and the risks associated with getting after it so early in the season. This clip probably won’t win it for Nic, but it’s worth a watch for the pro’s perspective alone.

Pat Moore:

The ginger juggernaut is at it again. Granite Stater Pat Moore might be made of stone, because in his one-minute-and-sixteen second segment, Pat stacks some serious shit and puts down some heavy hammers. From two-story frontside inverts to front fives on street features as big as park jumps, Pat puts together a promising part that might be enough to win him $50,000.

Jed Anderson:

If this contest were based solely on style, Jed Anderson would likely win. As who may be possibly the best jibber alive at the moment, Jed’s edit features tech tricks done proper, as he strayed from the building-to-building jumping that some of his peers have progressed to. However, about forty seconds in, Jed steps to a blue rail atop a mall roof that’s a few dozen feet off the ground, but it’s his frontside invert over a heating vent that went over very well in the SNOWBOARDER camp. Check out Jed’s edit here.

Scott Stevens:

Scott Stevens might have the best board control in snowboarding and his unique approach to strapping in (or not) have made him one of the most popular riders alive. Tricks like one-foot tailpress laybacks on picnic tables and nosepress frontflips have catapulted Scott into international fame, and now, in his first Real Snow appearance, he’s put together a banger segment that might be worthy of your vote. You decide. Check it out.

Bode Merrill:

When it comes to all-around riding, Bode Merrill is quite possibly the best in the world right now, and like his double-song ender in Absinthe’s latest release Twe12ve, the Merrill mixes his profound jumping and jibbing abilities in the street. In this Real Snow offering, Bode unstraps his back foot and gaps out to a concrete ledge, boardslides an overhead concrete C-ledge, and throws in a double backie ender, just for good measure.

Dan Brisse:

Last year’s win in this event garnered Brisse $50,000 cash, and the Minnesota madman is at it again and looking to make it an even hundred. Dan has single-handedly revolutionized urban riding with his balls-out approach to terrifying features, routinely riding street features that most wouldn’t (and couldn’t) comprehend riding away from. In this edit, watch Brisse Miller Flip into a concrete down ledge, front board down an elephantine kink, frontside 450 onto a double set down rail, and redirect off a three story building. Brisse is a beast, and this proves the point.

Louif Paradis:

Last year, Louif Paradis unveiled some new tricks in his Real Snow segment that got him a second-place finish, and this year, ol’ Lou is at it again. Hailing from the Quebéc region of our neighbor to the north, Loiuf came up with the likes of Nic Sauve, LNP, Alex Cantin, and a handful of other French Canadian killers, and now, he stands as one of the preeminent rail riders of the new generation thanks to his keen eye for unique features and a fluidity that can’t be imitated. Wait until the last few clips to see Louif revolutionize urban riding yet again with some wallride to rail transfers that will make you press rewind a few times, as well as a boardslide to nosepress on a kink, and a Scott Stevens-esque nosepress frontflip.

Halldór Helgason:

Iceland’s favorite son Halldór Helgason won the X Games Big Air a few years ago with a first-ever perfect score of 100 in a live TV event in front of millions of viewers, and now, he’s been invited to try his hand at fifty g’s in the Real Snow competition. Halldór’s filmer Johannes Brenning takes a different approach to documenting Helgason’s urban exploits with the use of a remote control helicopter that provides a cool angle on some even cooler tricks. From his backside 50-50 infini-kink opener to his backside 1080 ender, Halldór’s edit is compelling. And yes, we just said backside 1080.